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FSF announces new fiscal sponsorship for SeaGL conference

BOSTON, Massachusetts, USA -- Tuesday, August 1, 2017 -- The Free Software Foundation (FSF) announced today that the Seattle GNU/Linux (SeaGL) Conference will join the Working Together for Free Software Fund, becoming the first conference fiscally sponsored by the FSF.

As part of its Working Together for Free Software Fund, the FSF provides fiscal sponsorship for a number of important free software and GNU technical projects, such as the GNU Toolchain and Replicant. Today, SeaGL becomes the first event to receive this sponsorship.

SeaGL is a grassroots technical conference dedicated to spreading awareness and knowledge about the GNU/Linux community, free software, and freedom-respecting hardware. Their interest in free software extends to how they manage the conference, using tools like Jekyll and OSEM, and making sure that nonfree software is not required for attendee registration. In 2016, SeaGL had an attendance of more than 300.

"SeaGL educates new contributors about free software values and provides a friendly forum for community members to share news and tips about free software tools. We can't imagine an organization more in line with our goals than the FSF," said SeaGL board member Deb Nicholson.

As a fiscal sponsor, the FSF will assist SeaGL by providing services required by a legal entity, including the signing of contracts and receiving and processing payments.

"We have always been impressed with the Seattle GNU/Linux Conference's dedication to free software," said John Sullivan, executive director of the FSF and prior speaker at SeaGL. "We are excited to support what they are doing. Conferences are invaluable for building momentum and community within free software."

The FSF has already been represented at SeaGL for several years. FSF staff and volunteers have run an expo table. Richard Stallman, FSF founder, delivered a keynote in 2014. Past speakers include FSF board of directors members Benjamin Mako Hill and Bradley Kuhn. Staff members Donald Robertson III, Georgia Young, and Molly de Blanc have also spoken at the event.

Other free software focused events interested in fiscal sponsorship should contact the FSF at campaigns@fsf.org.

About the Free Software Foundation

The Free Software Foundation, founded in 1985, is dedicated to
promoting computer users' right to use, study, copy, modify, and
redistribute computer programs. The FSF promotes the development and
use of free (as in freedom) software -- particularly the GNU operating
system and its GNU/Linux variants -- and free documentation for free
software. The FSF also helps to spread awareness of the ethical and
political issues of freedom in the use of software, and its Web sites,
located at https://fsf.org and https://gnu.org, are an important source of information
about GNU/Linux. Donations to support the FSF's work can be made at
https://donate.fsf.org. Its headquarters are in Boston, MA, USA.

More information about the FSF, as well as important information for
journalists and publishers, is at https://www.fsf.org/press.

About SeaGL

Seattle GNU/Linux Conference is an annual conference in Seattle, Washington (USA). This year, it occurs October 6-7th, 2017, at Seattle Central College. The call for proposals is open until August 6th. More information is available on their website.